5.4. Clustered themes and superordinate themes 1 THPs’ perception of dreams
5.4.5 Method used to interpret symbolic dreams by THPs
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“When I dream about a person who is sick, the same sickness affects me, so I should first treat that sickness on me before that patient comes.”
[Participant 17; gender: Female, age: 21, in-depth interviews]
This section revealed that the use of body language is essential in the treatment of mental illnesses. However, it was also established that in some instances, body language is used in conjunction with dreams to make it effective. The argument is that insofar as there are many other methods that the THPs use to confirm the diagnosis and treatment shown through dreams in the treatment of mental illnesses, dreams in most cases always supplement the processes to make the treatment options more effective.
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“…when I am asleep they show me a butterfly, and by seeing that butterfly or butterflies flying above my head, I know that an abnormal person will come.” [Participant 10; gender: Male, age: 81, in-depth interviews]
“…when I see clothes, it means that the person is stressed. And/or the person will come wearing this way.” [Participant 8; gender: male, age:
43, in-depth interviews]
“Sometimes I can have a dream about a person walking on the street, so it means the illness is influenced by the satanic spirit. Even if I dream, when I wake up, I find that I have a certain fear, which means it is witchcraft.” [Participant 10; gender: male, age: 81, in-depth interviews]
“Some appear like fighting people in dreams, which just show that this person is troubled, some are stressed and they have to be treated in a certain way. It depends on the spirit and my ancestors’ spirit, because they speak differently.” [Participant 20; gender: male, age: 50, in-depth interviews]
“Sometimes they have meaning, whilst sometimes they're not. Sometimes a person can dream of water or snake, so according to the interpretation of dreams snake and water have something to do with ancestors.”
[Participant 15; gender: Female, age: 62, in-depth interviews]
“… I dreamt about ancient people that I don't even know, I even dreaming about beautiful snakes, untidy babies, and also wild animals and I were asking myself why do I have these kind of dreams, but in the end, I ended up knowing their meaning.” [Participant 26; gender: 56, age: Female, in- depth interviews]
Based on the above responses from participants, images were considered to contain some important meaning and message passed by ancestors, but it has also been argued that not all images carry messages. Some participants argued that some are just some piece of art that is used to decorate the place. In some instances, some images are a form of heritage, which implies that the message that they carry is not of a healing or ancestral nature, but just to remind people about the way of life of a particular clan. In essence, for participants, such images
100 are therefore not significant for this study. Hence, the main focus was on images that carry ancestral signs or images that assist THPs to convey certain messages to their clients.
The use of ancestral customs: Participants argued that through dreams, some ancestral customs are precisely observed. The study indicates that THPs are often given instructions to go to a certain place where they find the sources of medication that they need to treat various types of diseases, and in this regard, mental illness is not spared. It has also been indicated that when the ancestors come, they usually do so in the form of a voice which one hears from a distance.
The voice will provide all the required information, and the THP would simply follow the instructions and triumphs. The voice is interpreted to mean that the ancestors’ voice and instructions are followed as such. To comprehend this, some of the participants had this to say:
“…they can come in the form of a voice, sometimes you hear it from a distance saying go where and do what, and you will go and do those things. I would know that this means my ancestors have spoken.”
[Participant 7; gender: Female, age: 36, in-depth interviews]
“The ancestors instruct me to go to a certain mountain or a mountain in…
or in … where I will go to a mountain and find the medication that they've shown me at that place when they give me a “taola” (divine bone), I will get it in a river that they've shown me inside the water. I will find them and come back with them.” [Participant 2; gender: Female, age: 34, in-depth interviews]
“They come sequentially. Sometimes when I dream, I hear the voice of a person giving me instructions…, and in that dream, ancestors will show me the person’s traditional beats or attire that she must wear when I am teaching the patient sangoma practice. and in that dream ancestors will show me the person’s traditional beats or attire that she must wear [Participant 1; gender: Female, age: 69, in-depth interviews].
"…the voice will just speak without revealing the person but the medication...when ancestors show me through that voice in the dream, I
101 will know it, and it is my ancestors..." [Participant 4; gender: Female, age: 84, in-depth interviews]
For some participants, divine bones are used to assist in the interpretation of symbolic dreams. See the extracts below:
“I go to ancestors’ house and I throw the divine bones, then I speak to the divine bones concerning the dreams I had …” [Participant 13; gender:
male, age: 53, in-depth interviews]
“…when I throw the divine bones, and they say (mpherefere) it means there is an argument somewhere, or the patient is fighting with their spouse.” [Participant 25; gender: female, age: 62, in-depth interviews]
“…there is a certain way which the bones should point. We have 3 types of bones, it is (makgolela), and they are in a different way. It tells me what the person’s problem is and what is not the problem as well when they say it’s (demonstration) (mpherefere) and say (thwadima), (makgolela)… they communicate arguments and mental problems… (mpherefere) means a lot of things, it can be a sickness, it can be a problem…” [Participant 13;
gender: male, age: 53, in-depth interviews]
The above extracts revealed that participants’ dreams that are meant to communicate messages might seem to be normal but in essence, they are not due to the nature of the message that they carry. It has also been established that it is only THPs who can tell the difference between normal dreams and dreams that carry a message. In this case, ancestral norms are accommodated because the passing of messages through dreams is a unique activity. In essence, one needs to consider the fact that in some of the dreams, the ancestors come in the form of a voice that shows that they are in control. These dreams are simply their medium of instruction. Therefore, in the case of mental illness, the nature of the illness, as well as the diagnosis and the cure can be communicated through such dreams, and be interpreted by the use of divine bones and other cultural customs.
102 Furthermore, it is important to note that the findings of this study revealed most imperative that are relevant in using dreams to diagnose and treat mental illnesses in THPs’ practice. Participants of the study were all THPs whose life experiences were influenced by certain foregoing historical realities. As a result, a contextually relevant explanatory model is necessary to explain this uniquely relevant mental health practice that is influenced by the traditional practice of African practitioners. The model below (figure 2) intends to serve as a guideline on dreams as diagnostic and treatment tools in mental health care practice.
5.5 The model of dreams as a diagnostic and treatment tool in mental